Excise official arrested by DRI in Rs 100 crore fraud case

A Central Excise Superintendent has been arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials for his alleged involvement in facilitating some export merchants in acquiring Duty Free Import Authorization (DFIA) licenses worth more than Rs 100 crore.

According to a DRI release, J B Jhala, posted as Superintendent of Central Excise for Dhrangadhra range in Surendranagar district was arrested and presented before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate yesterday by the DRI. (PTI)

A Central Excise Superintendent has been arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials for his alleged involvement in facilitating some export merchants in acquiring Duty Free Import Authorization (DFIA) licenses worth more than Rs 100 crore.

According to a DRI release, J B Jhala, posted as Superintendent of Central Excise for Dhrangadhra range in Surendranagar district was arrested and presented before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate yesterday by the DRI.

The magistrate had remanded Jhala to judicial custody, it said.

The zonal unit of Ahmedabad DRI had lodged a case of DFIA fraud against ‘Shree Keshri Exports’, registered as a 100 per cent Export Oriented Unit (EOU) based in Rajsitapur village in Dhrangadhra taluka of Surendranagar district.

The case was registered upon a specific input that some exporters had shown exports to this non-operational EOU firm and obtained DFIA licences worth more than Rs 100 crore.

DFIA licenses are issued to allow duty free imports of input material which are used in the manufacturing of export products.

“During the course of the inquiry, some documents pertaining to the fraudulently availed DFIA licences indicated that the invoices under which deemed exports were shown by Shree Keshri Exports, which is not operational, were signed by Excise Superintendent of Dhrangadhra range J B Jhala,” the release said.

As per DRI, Jhala has certified receipt of goods which is in gross violation of laid down procedure to check the misuse of 100 per cent EOU Scheme.

DRI alleged that Jhala signed the papers “despite fully knowing that the said EOU was non-operational since beginning. These documents signed by Jhala were instrumental in issuance of DFIA licences worth more than Rs 100 crores,” the release said.

How these folks get selected for these top jobs? First we have to remove premiums for jobs in government postings as this system has eroded the meaning of 'public' service and has become self service to rob the tax payers from future stability and better facilities in all avenues of life. Many matters are known to outsiders as to what is happening but nobody has the guts to remove this menace plaguing the country since independence. If the basics regarding corruption is implemented a sea change would occur but all our leaders and intelligentsia just turn their head away or hide head in the sand as this task can only be accomplished by the powerful and honest government managers in all sectors of our society.